P.O. Box 870
Warm Springs, OR 97761
Spilyay Tym
July 25, 2012
Coyote News, est. 1976
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Tribes, district break ground on new school
“I truly believe this will benefit
our children,” said Councilwoman
Lola Sohappy. “I can see so many
opportunities coming from this for
our children.”
Middle school students will spend
less time on the bus, she said, giving
them more time to spend at school,,
■at school sports and with family.;
Elementary school students will
have a new school in a better loca
tion, she said.
Lola and husband D on Sohappy
gave the invocation at the ground
breaking.
“I also want to thank the voters,”
said tribal secretary-treasurer Jody
Calica, adding too that the school
has been a long time coming.
B y Dave M cM echan
Spilyay Tymoo
The twenty acres are now sage
brush and juniper. But in the near
future, “We’ll look on this site and
see a new school for our young
people,” said Laurie Danzuka, chair
woman of the School District 509-
J board.
“Our kids deserve this,” she said.
“It’s been a long-time coming.”
The passage on July 10 of the
Warm Springs school referendum,
Danzuka said, “was a momentous
occasion for the tribes, and I want
to th ank the people o f W arm
Springs.”
D anzuka spoke during the
ground-breaking ceremony last
week at the new Warm Springs
school site, at East Tenino and
Chukar Road. The $20-million k-8
school will open for the fall term in
2014.
Please see SCHOOL on page 10
Students and tribal leaders
break ground during a
ceremony at the new school
building site.
Dave McMechan/Spilyay
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Many jobs with restoration program
The phase 2 settlement money
is being put to good use in two ways.
First, the settlement money is
being used for important natural
resources restoration work.
And second, the phase 2 money
is being used for significant employ
m e n t am o n g tribal m em bers.
The tribes received thè phase 2
settlement in 2009. This was com
pensation from the federal govern
ment for past mismanagement of
tribal natural resources. About $29
million of the" phase 2 settlement
was dedicated to natural resource
restoration work. Another roughly
$5 m illion was designated for
baseline studies of natural resources.
There are now about 100 crew
members working on restoration
projects made possible through this
program , adm inistered by the
Branch of Natural Resources.
Nearly all o f die crew members
are tribal members, with a few ex
ceptions in cases of people married
into the tribe who are. supporting
tribal member children. ,
Last year, between 60 and 65
members were employed in resto
ration work through the setdement
fund. This year the number is higher
by 40 employees, as Tribal Council
directed that crews be increased to
help during the hard economic
times.
Some of the crews are working
in high country on huckleberry habi
tat restoration, through reduction of
competing vegetation. Some crews
are doing trail restoration work.
Others are working on forest
health projects such as hazard fuel
reduction, which eventually would
allow, fori under-burn forest treat
ment. O ther are working on re
building fencing, and removal of
noxious weeds.
The crews start their work day
early in the morning, gathering be
fore 6 a.m. at Natural Resources.
They can then work a full day be
fore the full heat of the afternoon.
— Dave McMechan
Fisher’s Expo on Friday
The Columbia River Indian
Fisher’s Expo is this Friday, July
27 at H ood River. The expo is
sponsored by the Columbia
River Inter-Tribal Fish Commis
sion.
The event and meals are free
for all Warm Springs, Yakama,
Umatilla and Nez Perce fishers.
The expo is from 7:30 a.m. to .
5:30 p.m. at the Best Western
H ood Rivet Inn.
A new feature this year will be
the School of Fish, stations for
kids 7 and up to lsarn about
salmon, fishing safety and sci
ence. For more information call
503-238-0667.
Summer powwow at Simnasho
The Simnasho com munity is
hosting the Hot Summer Night Pow
wow this evening, July 25.
There will be a fun run and walk
in addition to the powwow. The Fun
Run is at 10:30 a.m. starting at the
powwow grounds. A potluck bar
becue dinner begins at 6, social
dancing and singing at 7. Drum
mers, please bring your own chairs.
Roots tradition lives through family dedication
B y D ave M cM echan
Spilyay Tymoo
M argaret Suppah and her fam
ily gathered the camas roots
about two weeks ago at Pop’xle
Meadow.
Pop’xle, meaning “powdery,”
refers to the kind of light sandy
soil in the meadow, said Marga
ret. In the winter, she said, the
meadow becomes a shallow lake,
and in the summer the ground
is ideal for camas roots.
The family gathered the roots
for about a week earlier this
month. They would start early
in the morning, before breakfast,
in order to dig as many as pos
sible before the day became too
h ot
With camas roots they gather
when the plant is in bloom with
a purple flower. This is impor
tant because there is another
variety with a white flower that
Dave McMechan/Spilyay
Margaret Suppah cleans the camas roots before cooking
is poisonous. Once the plants are
no longer blooming they appear
identical, so it is critical to gather
when the flowers are in bloom.
When the family was done gath
ering, they brought the roots to their
camp at Log Springs.
Cleaning the roots took a few
days. Gathering the various plant
leaves, used in the traditional cook
ing method, took another couple of
days.
Cooking the roots-—in a pit with
heated rocks and fire on top— took
another three and a half days. In
all, “You have to give yourself to
the roots for about two weeks,” said
Cassimera Rhoan, who this year is
learning the tradition.
Margaret Suppah, as the elder,
is teaching the tradition to the fam
ily, said Wanda Van Pelt.
Margaret learned the tradition
from her atwaiaurit Annie Yahtin.
From earlier elders there are ac
counts o f many root gatherers at
Pop’xle Meadow. These accounts
are from the early 1900s.
“T h ere w ould be cam ps all
through the meadows where the
roots are gathered,” Wanda said.
These days, only a precious few
continue the tradition. This year
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Thursdays in July at
8pm and 10pm
See page 14 for. other exciting offers.
Margaret and her family were the
only ones who camped at the
meadow for camas root-gather
ing.
A later harvest
.The family has noticed an in
vasive w eed grow ing in the
meadow, wreaking Some o f the
root areas.
The weed first appeared sev
eral years ago, Margaret said. An
earlier effort to bum it was help
ful for a while but the weed is
spreading again.
The camas roots were ready
for gathering later in the sum
mer than in earlier times, a trend
the family has noticed over the
past few years, said Wanda. This
year the roots were ready about
a month later than usual.
But, she said, it was a good
year for the camas roots, and the
family gathered a great many of
them.
See ROOTS TRADITION on 10
» .
Indian Hea^
C A S IN O
Highway 26, Warm Springs